Cottonwood forests are one of the most common woodland environments found along Montana’s streams and rivers. They provided habitat for more than half the state’s bird species, and are a quiet refuge for elk, deer, fox and beaver.

However, the number of mature cottonwoods found along the Missouri River has been in decline for many years. Dam construction has altered the river’s natural rhythm of flood and drought, a cycle critical to the successful germination of cottonwood seeds.